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The Tony-winning playwright and librettist talks about what audiences can expect from his take on the Russian tale when it debuts May 12.

Anastasia the Musical

“It’s a wonderful mystery, fairy tale, romance,” playwright Terrence McNally says. “It’s the most modern story I could think of. It’s the search for identity, roots, family connection. What mysteries lie in our lineage? That’s why it continues to speak to people.”

McNally is talking about Anastasia, the new musical opening in one month at Connecticut’s Hartford Stage, for which he has written the libretto and Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Rocky) have written the score. Darko Tresnjak, Hartford Stage’s artistic director, heads the production. A Tony winner for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (which began at Hartford Stage), Tresnjak brings his vision to the show inspired by the 1997 animated movie of the same name—originally scored by Ahrens and Flaherty.